Method and apparatus for dc restoration using feedback

ABSTRACT

A feedback circuit for restoration of DC in video signals is presented. A sample pulse representing the back porch of an incoming video signal is generated from the horizontal sync signal. The sample pulse triggers a sample and hold circuit to acquire the correct offset voltage in the output signal during this back porch period. The offset voltage feeds back through a summing node upstream of either the circuit causing the offset or an input amplifier thereby restoring the video signal to the desired DC voltage level with respect to ground.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of video transmission. Morespecifically the invention relates to removal of DC offset errors invideo transmitted over long distances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cables are one method commonly used to convey electronic video signalsfrom a source device (e.g., a video camera or a DVD player) to adestination device (e.g., a video display screen). Two types of cablecommonly used for video transmission are coaxial cable and twisted paircable. It is desirable for the video signal at the destination device tocorrespond accurately to the original video signal transmitted by thesource device. “Insertion loss” is a term used to describe signaldegradation that occurs when a video or other signal is transmitted overa transmission medium such as a cable. Insertion loss is typicallycaused by the physical characteristics of the transmission cable.

Typically, insertion loss is proportional to the cable length: longerlength transmission cables will exhibit greater loss than shorter lengthcables. Coaxial cables typically exhibit less insertion loss thantwisted pair cables. However, coaxial cables are more expensive anddifficult to install than twisted pair cables. Twisted pair cablestypically are manufactured as bundles of several twisted pairs. Forexample, a common form of twisted pair cable known as “Category 5” or“CAT5” cable comprises four separate twisted pairs encased in a singlecable. CAT5 cable is typically terminated with an eight-pin RJ45connector.

Video signals come in a variety of formats. Examples are CompositeVideo, S-Video, and YUV. Each format uses a color model for representingcolor information and a signal specification defining characteristics ofthe signals used to transmit the video information. For example, the“RGB” color model divides a color into red (R), green (G) and blue (B)components and transmits a separate signal for each color component.

In addition to color information, the video signal may also comprisehorizontal and vertical sync information needed at the destinationdevice to properly display the transmitted video signal. The horizontaland vertical sync signals may be carried over separate conductors fromthe video component signals. Alternatively, they may be added to one ormore of the video signal components and transmitted along with thosecomponents.

For RGB video, several different formats exist for conveying horizontaland vertical sync information. These include RGBHV, RGBS, RGsB, andRsGsBs. In RGBHV, the horizontal and vertical sync signals are eachcarried on separate conductors. Thus, five conductors are used: one foreach of the red component, the green component, the blue component, thehorizontal sync signal, and the vertical sync signal. In RGBS, thehorizontal and vertical sync signals are combined into a composite syncsignal and sent on a single conductor. In RGsB, the composite syncsignal is combined with the green component. This combination ispossible because the sync signals comprise pulses that are sent during ablanking interval, when no video signals are present. In RsGsBs, thecomposite sync signal is combined with each of the red, green and bluecomponents. Prior art devices exist for converting from one format ofRGB to another. To reduce cabling requirements, for transmission of RGBvideo over anything other than short distances, a format in which thesync signals are combined with one or more of the color componentsignals are commonly used.

Thus, an RGB signal typically requires at least three separate cablesfor transmission of each of the red, green, and blue components and thecombined horizontal and vertical sync information. If coaxial cable isused, three separate cables are required. If twisted pair conductors areused, three twisted pairs are also required, but a single CAT5 cable(which comprises four twisted pairs) can be used. Three of the fourpairs may be used for the red, green, and blue components, respectively.The fourth pair is available for transmission of other signals (e.g.,digital data, composite sync, and/or power). FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrateexamples of how video signals may be allocated to the four pairs oftwisted conductors in a CAT5 or similar cable.

In a CAT5 or similar cable, each end of each conductor is typicallyconnected to one of eight pins of a standard male RJ-45 connector. InFIGS. 2 and 3, the first conductor pair corresponds to Pins 1 and 2; thesecond conductor pair corresponds to Pins 4 and 5; the third conductorpair corresponds to Pins 7 and 8; and the fourth conductor paircorresponds to Pins 3 and 6. For video signal configurations in whichthree or fewer conductor pairs are used for the transmission of thevideo signal, the remaining conductor pair or pairs (for example, thepair corresponding to Pins 3 and 6), may be used for communication ofother signals, and/or for power transfer. Power transfer may bedesirable if one of the devices is located remote from an external powersource. For example, a source device may comprise a self powered laptopcomputer located at a distance from an external power source, such as apower outlet, while the destination device comprises a video projectordisplay unit located in the ceiling of a room with a readily availableAC power source. In such a configuration, the power needed to operatethe transmitter may be conveyed from the receiver located near an ACpower source via the twisted conductor pair not allocated fortransmission of video signals. In such a configuration, the transmittermay be located within a wall or podium (e.g. in the vicinity of thelaptop computer) without a nearby power source thus the transmitter canget its power from the receiver which is more likely to have a powersource nearby.

FIG. 2 shows example pin configurations for a number of video signalformats. For example, with RGBHV video, as shown in the column headed“RGBHV” of FIG. 2, the twisted pair corresponding to Pins 1 and 2carries the differential Red signals (i.e. Red+ and Red−) and thedifferential vertical sync signal (i.e. V Sync+ and V Sync−), the paircorresponding to Pins 4 and 5 carries the differential green signals(i.e. Green+ and Green−), and the pair corresponding to Pins 7 and 8carries the differential Blue signals (i.e. Blue+ and Blue−) and thedifferential horizontal sync signal (i.e. H Sync+ and H Sync−). In FIG.2, the conductor pair corresponding to pins 3 and 6 is allocated tocarrying a digital signal and power.

For RGBS (i.e. RGB with one composite sync signal), in the example ofFIG. 2, as shown in the column headed “RGBS,” the same pin assignmentsare used for the red, green and blue components as for RGBHV, with thecomposite sync signal combined with the Blue signal (i.e. Blue/C Sync+and Blue/C Sync−). The composite sync signal could alternatively becombined with the Red component signal, or the Green component signal(as is done in the RGsB format, as shown in the column headed “RGsB” inFIG. 2). When the format to be transmitted is RsGsBs (i.e. compositesync signal added to each color component), as shown in the columnheaded “RsGsBs” in FIG. 2, the same pin assignments are used for each ofthe red, green and blue components as for RGBHV, except in this case thecomposite sync signal is added to each of the three color components.

In addition to showing example pin assignments for RGB signals, FIG. 2also shows example pin assignments for component video, S-Video, andcomposite video. FIG. 3 shows an example of pin assignments that allowComposite video and S Video signals to share the same four-twisted paircable.

Video standards require the regions known in the art as the front porchand back porch, i.e., the signal level before and after the horizontalsynchronization pulse, to be at a DC ground level. However, it is commonto find video sources with signals not referenced to ground. Forinstance, the video signal may be floating or biased above or belowground. Prior art systems use methods such as AC (e.g. capacitive)coupling to remove this undesirable DC bias.

However, AC coupling allows for a very large DC offset error on theinput and distorts the video signal. The signal drifts up and downaround it's bias point depending on video signal content. Also the videomay be distorted (field tilt) due to the RC time constant inherent insuch a circuit. To minimize the field tilt often large capacitor andresistor values are used which slow down the response time of the DCrestore circuit. Therefore, capacitive coupling and other methods ofprior art have drawbacks which degrade video quality and DC restoreresponse time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a method and apparatus for automaticallyrestoring DC in video signals using feedback. The present invention isparticularly applicable to the transmission of video over long lengthsof twisted pair conductors. Embodiments of the invention may beimplemented as a separate device and/or as part of a video transmissionsystem that provides other types of signal compensation and equalizationas well.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter comprises aDC restore circuit which clamps the video signal with respect to ground.Clamping of the video signal with respect to ground in the transmitterallows for use of the full dynamic range when processing the videosignal for transmission over the twisted pair conductor. For instance,the characteristics of a reference signal used for signal recovery maynot need to vary with the video signal clamped to ground; thus reducingthe complexity of the receiver circuit.

In one or more embodiments, the receiver circuit also comprises a DCrestore circuit to maximize compatibility of the output video signalswith subsequent video equipments.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention overthe prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of thedrawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of long distance twisted pair transmissionapparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of allocation of the conductors of a twistedpair cable for various video formats in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of allocation of the conductors of a twistedpair cable for video signals in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustration of architecture of a transmitterin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a polarity converter in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustration of architecture of a receiver inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a sync stripper circuit in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of amplifier configuration for variable lengthtwisted pair cables in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the DC offset correction circuit inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a Clamp Pulse generator in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of sync signal generation circuit from thegreen video input component in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a Sample & Hold circuit in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a method and apparatus for restoration of DC invideo transmitted over long distances using twisted pair conductors. Inthe following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known features have not been described in detail so as not toobscure the invention.

In one or more embodiments, a transmitter is configured to transmitvideo signals over multiple conductor pairs to a receiver. Eachconductor pair carries a component of the video signal. The transmitterobtains input video signals from a video source device (e.g. a videocamera or a DVD player). In one or more embodiments, the transmittermodifies the input video signal by restoring the DC to ground referenceand adding a reference signal having a predetermined form to eachcomponent of the input video signal. The transmitter transmits themodified input video signal over the multiple conductor pairs to thereceiver. The receiver processes the modified input video signal andprovides a reprocessed video signal to a destination device (e.g. avideo recorder or video display). In one or more embodiments, thereference signal comprises a horizontal sync signal of the input videosignal.

Processing of each component of the modified video signal at thereceiver is done based on the reference signal. In one embodiment, whenthe receiver is coupled to the transmitter via the conductor pairs, thereceiver recognizes that a signal is present at its input terminals andbegins processing of the input signal. The receiver attempts to detectthe reference signal in each signal component. In one or moreembodiments, the receiver comprises a closed loop signal amplifier foreach signal component. The receiver initially sets the loop gains of theamplifiers to maximum for purposes of detecting the reference signal. Inone or more embodiments, once the reference signal is detected in aparticular signal component, the receiver adjusts the DC and/or ACsignal amplitude and peaking for that signal component until thereference signal is restored to its original form.

At a point early in the signal adjustment process where the referencesignal starts to be detected, DC restore circuits in the receiverautomatically starts to measure the DC level of the video signal at theback porch and adjust the video signals accordingly. The resultingoutput video is compatible with multiple display systems. In one or moreembodiments, DC restore employs a closed loop feedback system around thevideo signal which automatically clamps the signal with respect toground.

An embodiment of a video transmission system comprising the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The video transmission system ofFIG. 1 comprises video source 102, cable 103, transmitter 104; twistedpair cable 106; receiver 108, cable 109 and destination device 110.Cable 103 couples the video (and audio, if applicable) signals fromsource 102 to transmitter 104. Cable 103 may comprise any suitableconductors known in the art for coupling the type of video signalgenerated by video source 102 to transmitter 104. Transmitter 104comprises multiple input terminals for accepting different input signalformats. For example, transmitter 104 may comprise connectors foraccepting a composite video signal, an S-Video signal, a digital videosignal, an RGB component video signal, etc. Transmitter 104 may alsocomprise standard audio connectors such as, for example RCA input jacks.

In one or more embodiments, cable 106 comprises a cable bundle ofmultiple twisted pair conductors. For example, cable 106 may comprise aCAT5 or similar cable comprising four pairs of twisted conductors andterminated with standard male RJ-45 connectors that mate with matchingfemale RJ-45 connectors on the transmitter and receiver. The pairs oftwisted conductors may, for example, be allocated as shown in FIGS. 2and 3.

Example embodiments of the present invention are described using RGBHVas an example video input signal format. However, it will be clear tothose of skill in the art that the invention is not limited to RGBHV andother RGB video formats but may be used with any video format in whichthe video signal is transmitted over at least one conductor pair.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the architecture of transmitter 104 ofFIG. 1 in an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4, transmitter 104 receives a video source signalcomprising separate video input signals and sync input signals. Forexample, if the video input source signal is in RGBHV format, videoinput signals comprise the R, G and B signals, while the sync inputsignals comprise the H and V sync signals. In other embodiments, thesync signals may be combined with one or more of the video componentsignals.

In embodiments configured for S-Video; Component video; or RGB videowith a combined synchronization signal, the synchronization signals maybe detected and extracted from the video information and thenre-combined, after conditioning, with the video to provide theappropriate reference signals for skew measurements. In suchembodiments, the synchronization signals are stripped from the incomingvideo signals, conditioned, and then recombined with the appropriatevideo data, in the transmitter. Thus, configured, the input signal atthe receiver provides the necessary information for the receiver todetect and compensate for skew, and also re-generate the appropriatesynchronization signals for these video formats.

In the RGBHV embodiment of FIG. 4, transmitter 104 comprises horizontaland vertical sync input terminals 431H and 43IV, red, green and bluevideo input terminals 401R, 401G and 401B, input amplifiers 410R, 410G,and 410B, back porch clamp (BPC) generator 430, offset correctioncircuits 440R, 440G, and 440B, uni-polar pulse converters 450H and 450V,differential output amplifiers 460R, 460G and 460B, and differentialoutput terminals 402R, 402G and 402B. Transmitter 104 may also containlocal output amplifiers for each input signal (not shown) that provide alocal video monitor output signal.

Input amplifiers 410 receive the input video signal from video inputterminals 401, and two uni-polar pulse converters 450 receive the syncinput signal from sync input terminals 431. Separate amplifiers arepreferably utilized for each video component signal. For example, anRGBHV input signal requires three input amplifiers 410 for the videocomponents (one each for the R, G, and B components) and two uni-polarpulse converters 450 for the sync (one each for the H and V syncsignals).

Input amplifiers 410 are used in conjunction with horizontal sync BPCgenerator 430 and offset correction circuits 440 to detect andcompensate for any DC offset in the source video signal. In theembodiment of FIG. 4, offset correction circuits 440 determine the DCoffset for each video component using the back porch clamp signal fromthe BPC generator 430, and the amplified video source signal from inputamplifiers 410. Offset correction circuits 440 apply compensation toeach video component via a feedback loop comprising the respective inputamplifier 410 for that component. An embodiment of a DC offsetcorrection circuit is illustrated in FIG. 9.

The vertical and horizontal synchronization signals 431H and 431V areinputs for the uni-polar pulse converters 450. Uni-polar pulseconverters 450 assure that sync signals output by transmitter 104 arealways the same polarity regardless of the polarity of the input. Anembodiment of a uni-polar pulse converter 450 is illustrated in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, pulse converter 450 comprises essentiallytwo exclusive-OR gates (e.g. 510 and 520) that process the received syncinput signal. Initially, the sync input signal 501 (e.g. 431H and 431V)is exclusive-ORed with ground in gate 510 and then the output of gate510 is filtered in low-pass filter 530 (which may comprise a resistorand capacitor circuit) and exclusive-ORed with itself (i.e. unfilteredoutput of gate 510) in gate 520 to generate the polarity-corrected syncoutput signal 502.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the polarity-corrected horizontal andvertical sync signals from uni-polar pulse converters 450 aresubsequently mixed at summing junctions 452 with the vertical syncattribute being of greater amplitude than the horizontal sync signal.The summed sync signal is fed into the negative input of thedifferential output amplifier 460 while the video from the inputamplifier 410 is fed into the positive input of the differential outputamplifier 460.

In one or more embodiments, the horizontal sync signal H_(SYNCP) is usedas both the horizontal sync signal and as the reference pulse signal,which is used in the receiver for skew correction. Thus, H_(SYNCP) isinjected into each of the video signal components simultaneously. Inaddition, the vertical sync signal V_(SYNCP) is also added to theappropriate one of the video components. In the embodiment of FIG. 4,HsyNcp is summed with V_(SYNCP) and subtracted (added to the negativeinput) of the red video component at the differential amplifier 460R;H_(SYNCP) is subtracted from the green video component at differentialamplifier 460G; and H_(SYNCP) is subtracted from the blue videocomponent at differential amplifier 460B. In effect a negative referencepulse is simultaneously added to all three differential video outputsignals.

Differential output amplifiers 460 receive the reference, sync (ifapplicable) and video signals and provide corresponding amplifieddifferential driver signals to differential output terminals 402. In oneor more embodiments, differential output terminals 402 comprise a femaleRJ-45 connector using pin assignments such as those shown in FIG. 2(pins 3 and 6 may be used for transmission of power, digital signals,and/or audio signals). Differential output terminals 402 may beconnected via twisted pair cable 106 of FIG. 1 to receiver 108.

Receiver 108 receives the differential video signals from transmitter104 via twisted pair cable 106. Receiver 108 processes the differentialvideo signals to compensate for skew and signal degradation and thenoutputs the compensated video signals to a destination device such asprojector 110. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of receiver 108 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, Receiver 108 comprises variable gain amplifiers 610;discrete gain amplifiers 620; skew adjustment circuit 630; output stages640; DC offset compensation circuits 622; and sync detectors 650.Receiver 108 may also include differential output terminals (not shown)that output a buffered and/or amplified version of the input signals fordaisy chaining to other receivers.

The differential video input signals 601 (e.g. 601R, 601G and 601B) feedto the respective variable gain amplifiers 610 and discrete gainamplifiers 620. Each variable gain amplifier 610 works together with thecorresponding discrete gain amplifier 620 to compensate a respective oneof the differential input video signals for DC and peaking lossesresulting from communication of the signal from transmitter 104 toreceiver 108 over twisted pair cable 106. In one or more embodiments,each variable gain amplifier 610 is capable of providing a controllable,variable amount of gain over a range from zero (0) to K, and eachdiscrete gain amplifier 620 provides amplification in controllable,discrete multiples of K (e.g. 0K, 1K, 2K, etc). Together, variable gainamplifiers 610 and discrete gain amplifiers 620 provide controllableamount of variable gain over the range equal to the sum of the maximumgain of variable gain amplifiers 610 and the maximum gain of discretegain amplifiers 620. In one or more embodiments, K represents the amountof gain typically required to compensate for signal losses over a knownlength of cable (e.g. 300 feet).

The amount of gain provided by variable gain amplifiers 610 and discretegain amplifiers 620 may be controlled, for example, using amicro-controller that determines the appropriate amount of gain to beapplied based on actual and expected signal strength of the referencesignal included in the video signals received from transmitter 104.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram for a discrete gain amplifier 620 in oneembodiment of the invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, discrete gainamplifier 620 comprises a multiplexer 820 and a plurality ofcompensation circuits 806, 809, 812 and 815. Each compensation circuitprovides a fixed amount of gain that is approximately equal to themaximum amount of gain provided by a variable gain amplifier 610 (whichmay be selected, for example, to approximate the amount of gain neededto compensate for losses that occur for a nominal cable length, such as300 feet). The compensation circuits are daisy changed, and the outputof each successive compensation circuit is connected to one of theinputs of multiplexer 820.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, input 831 of multiplexer 820 is connectedto the unamplified input signal 801 (which may, for example, compriseone of the input video components 601 after it passes through arespective variable gain amplifier 610). Input 832 is connected to theoutput of compensation circuit 806, i.e. input signal 801 after it hasbeen amplified by compensation circuit 806. Input 833 is connected tothe output of compensation circuit 809 (i.e. input signal 801 afterhaving been amplified by compensation circuits 806 and 809). Input 834is connected to the output of compensation circuit 812 (i.e. inputsignal 801 after having been amplified by compensation circuits 806, 809and 812). Input 835 is connected to the output of compensation circuit815 (i.e. input signal 801 after having been amplified by compensationcircuits 806, 809, 812 and 815). If K is the amount of gain provided byeach compensation circuit, then the gain applied to input signal 801will be 0K, 1K, 2K, 3K or 4K, depending on which of inputs 831, 832,833, 834 or 835 is selected.

Referring to FIG. 6, in one or more embodiments, the total amount ofgain provided by variable gain amplifiers 610 and discrete gainamplifiers 620 may be selected based on the length of cable 106, or maybe automatically controlled, as described in co-pending U.S. patentapplication entitled “Method And Apparatus For Automatic Compensation OfVideo Signal Losses From Transmission Over Conductors”, Ser. No.11/309,122, specification of which is herein incorporated by reference.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the gain-compensated input signals 601 arefurther compensated for DC offset using DC offset compensation circuits622 and for skew using skew adjustment circuit 630.

Skew compensation is performed through Skew Adjustment circuit 630. Skewadjustment is accomplished by first recovering the reference (e.g.Horizontal Sync) signal from each video output component, for instance,at the output of Skew Adjustment circuit 630. The recovered sync signalsmay be subsequently used in a controller (e.g. a Micro-Controller) todetermine the appropriate amount of delay to apply through SkewAdjustment circuit 630.

Skew adjustment is described in more detail in co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/309,120, entitled “Method And Apparatus ForAutomatic Compensation Of Skew In Video Transmitted Over MultipleConductors”, the specification of which is incorporated by referenceherein.

In one or more embodiments, the circuit comprising video outputamplifiers 640 and skew adjustment circuit 630 are continuouslycompensated for DC offset using DC offset compensation circuits 622.

Referring back to FIG. 6, each DC offset compensation circuit 622comprises a feedback loop around skew adjustment circuit 630 and videooutput amplifiers 640. The DC offset compensation circuit 622 for eachrespective color component signal (i.e. 622B, 622G or 622R) measures thesignal offset at the respective output amplifier 640 to generate acorrection signal. The DC offset may be due to the structure of the skewdelay compensation & amplifier gain stages required to restore the videosignal, for example. The correction signal feeds back and sums with therespective gain compensated video signal (from the respective discreteamplifier 620) in respective summing node 624.

DC restore may be applied in both the transmitter and receiver.Throughout this specification, DC restore is referred to interchangeablyas Offset Correction and DC offset compensation. For instance, the DCrestore circuit in the transmitter is indicated as Offset Correctioncircuit 440 (see FIG. 4) while DC restore circuit in the receiver isreferred to as DC Offset Compensation circuit 622 (see FIG. 6). DCrestore, or clamping of the video signal with respect to ground, in thetransmitter may be necessary since video from some input sources areeither floating, or biased above or below ground. In the receiver, DCrestore (or clamping of the video signal with respect to ground) may benecessary because of circuitry within the receiver that may cause DCoffset.

Generally, clamping of the video signal with respect to ground involvesdetecting the offset voltage level. This may be accomplished in one ormore embodiments of the present invention by sampling the back porch toobtain a reference for the video signal. This is because most videostandards require the voltage at the back porch of all video signals tobe zero. Thus, measuring the voltage level at the back porch produces anoffset voltage which may be applied to the video signal through afeedback path, continuously, and until the back porch is restored (orclamped) to ground.

In order to find the back porch, embodiments of the present inventionuse the trailing edge of the horizontal sync signal to start sampling ofthe video signal to determine the back porch DC level. For instance, oneembodiment may employ circuitry designed to handle various video formatsto generate a sample pulse (or Clamp Pulse) at the back porch. Thisclamp pulse may subsequently be used to control a sample and holdcircuit which samples the output video signal during the clamp pulseperiod and obtains an offset voltage equivalent in magnitude to the backporch voltage level, but with an opposite polarity. Thus, the offsetvoltage may be fed back to remove the DC offset error in the videosignal. FIG. 9 is an illustration of a DC restore circuit in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated, the DC restore circuit comprises: summing node 910;amplifier 912; Circuitry Causing Offset 914; Sample & Hold circuit 916;and Clamp Pulse Generator circuit 918. The DC restore circuit operateson Input Signal 901 to generate the clamped video signal, OffsetCorrected Signal 902. The offset signal (i.e. output of Sample & Holdcircuit 916) is generated when the clamp pulse is received from ClampPulse generator 918. A block diagram illustration of Clamp Pulsegenerator 918 is illustrated in FIG. 10.

The Clamp Pulse generator may be configured to operate on a variety ofvideo sync configurations. As illustrated in FIG. 10, in videoprocessing where the horizontal sync signal is independently available(e.g. RGBHV or RGBS), the horizontal sync signal (i.e. H_(Sync) 1001)may be coupled to an input of the clamp pulse generator. However, inconfigurations where the horizontal sync is not independently available,the Sync signal may be obtained from the green color component,generally refer to as Sync-On-Green (SOG). The Sync-On-Green inputsignals, SOG 1002 and TRI-SOG 1003, may be generated using the circuitillustrated in FIG. 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the green video signal, G_(X) 1101, isbuffered at amplifier 1110. When the green video signal includes thenormal sync signal, the circuit comprising amplifiers 1112 and 1114detects the normal sync pulse and produces a pulse corresponding to thesync signal at output SOG 1002. However, if the green video signalincludes a tri-level sync signal (e.g. in some high definition video),then the circuit comprising amplifiers 1112 and 1116 will produce apulse at output TRI-SOG 1003 at the second half of the tri-level syncsignal, in addition to and after the pulse at SOG 1002, which representsthe normal sync pulse. Thus, video with tri-level sync signals willresult in a pulse at SOG 1002 and a pulse at TRI-SOG 1003. Generally,there is a finite delay between the trailing edge of the pulse at SOG1002 and the rising edge of the pulse at TRI-SOG 1003.

Referring back to FIG. 10, the clamp pulse generator is basicallyaccomplished with counters and logic gates. As illustrated, when thereis a horizontal sync signal, the input signal H_(Sync) 1001 resets theplurality of registers 1036 so that its output disables AND gates 1010and 1024, which couples in the Sync-On-Green signals, SOG 1002 andTRI-SOG 1003, for alternate clamp pulse generation. With gates 1010 and1024 disabled, the horizontal sync signal, H_(Sync) 1001, is inverted inNOR gate 1012 and delayed (e.g. 40 to 60 nanoseconds) in plurality ofregisters 1014. Those of skill in the art would appreciate that,although included herein, delay registers 1014 may not be necessary inthe normal H_(Sync) video configuration.

Output of registers 1014 subsequently clocks register 1016 which outputsthe clamp pulse for the normal H_(Sync) configuration (i.e. output ofregister 1016). Input “D” of register 1016 remains high since it is theoutput of inverter 1026, which is high in this configuration. The widthof the clamp pulse is controlled by output of plurality of registers1032 which is coupled to the reset port (“R”) of register 1016.Plurality of Registers 1032 is essentially a delay circuit which startscounting the external clock cycles, CLOCK 1004, through AND gate 1028when Clamp Pulse 1005 goes high. Delay Registers 1032 are reset throughinverter 1030 when Clamp Pulse 1005 goes low. The above processingoccurs when horizontal sync is present, e.g. RGBHV video format.

However, when there is no horizontal sync signal (e.g. high definitionvideo) the circuit automatically switches over to look at theSync-On-Green signals. The automatic switching occurs by controllinggates 1010 and 1024 using the known characteristic of the horizontalsync signal. For example, since the horizontal sync period normallyoccurs in less than 0.32768 milliseconds, a clock signal having a cycleapproximately greater than the H_(Sync) period (e.g. 0.32768milliseconds) may be used to clock the plurality of registers 1036,which enables AND gates 1010 and 1024. This clock signal may begenerated using a plurality of registers 1034 which is clocked by anexternal clock, CLOCK 1004 (e.g. 50 MHz), and configured to generate aclock with a period approximately equal to the desired 0.32768milliseconds.

With gate 1010 enabled, normal sync signal SOG 1002, is inverted in NORgate 1012 and delayed (e.g. 40 to 60 nanoseconds) with the plurality ofregisters 1014. This delay may be necessary for the tri-level syncconfiguration (discussed below) to account for any delay between SOG1002 and TRI-SOG 1003. Output of registers 1014 subsequently clocksregisters 1016 which outputs the clamp pulse for the normal SOGconfiguration (i.e. output of register 1016). Input “D” of register 1016remains high since it is the output of inverter 1026, which is highbecause TRI-SOG is low. As discussed above, the width of the clamp pulseis controlled by output of plurality of registers 1032 which is coupledto the reset port (“R”) of register 1016.

In the tri-level sync configuration, AND gate 1024 is also enabled alongwith AND gate 1010. In such configuration, the normal clamp pulsegeneration for the sync signal SOG 1002 through gate 1012, delayregisters 1014, and register 1016 is disabled. As illustrated, theoutput of inverter 1026, which is low because TRI-SOG is high, disablesthe normal clamp pulse path at the “D” input of register 1016. Inaddition, output of delay registers 1014 clocks the output of register1018 to high since TRI-SOG is connected to the “D” input of register1018 via AND gate 1024. The output of Register 1020 is subsequentlyclocked high when the TRI_SOG signal goes away by output of inverter1026. Thus, when input signal TRI-SOG 1003 becomes inactive, output ofregister 1020 goes high thereby resulting in the clamp pulse for thetri-level configuration.

As discussed above, the width of the clamp pulse generated at output ofregister 1020 is controlled by the output of plurality of registers 1032which is coupled to the reset port (“R”) of registers 1018 and 1020. Theoutput of the clamp pulse circuit, Clamp Pulse 1005, is generated byORing the outputs of register 1016 and register 1020 in gate 1022.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the clamp pulse generatorcircuit and other circuits illustrated herein may be represented withdiscrete hardware devices or programmed in software, where appropriate.For instance, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) may be used toimplement the circuit illustrated in FIG. 10.

Referring back to FIG. 9, the output of the Clamp Pulse generator 918,e.g. clamp pulse 1005, controls the switching action in the Sample &Hold circuit 916. FIG. 12 is an illustration of a Sample and Holdcircuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Asillustrated, the video output signal, e.g. R_(Y) 1201, is coupled to thenegative terminal of amplifier (i.e. buffer) 1210 thereby resulting in achange of polarity of the video signal. The buffer also acts to preventany interference with the actual video signal by the sample and holdcircuit.

The output of inverting buffer 1210 is coupled to the “S” terminal ofswitch 1220. The output of switch 1220, i.e. terminal “D”, is coupled toone terminal of capacitor 1230 and to the positive terminal of amplifier1240. The other terminal of capacitor 1230 is coupled to ground. Also,clamp pulse signal 1005 is coupled to the control terminal “IN” ofswitch 1220. Thus, as configured, when Clamp Pulse 1005 is “true”, theswitch connects the input terminal “S” to the output terminal “D”thereby causing capacitor 1230 to charge via the series resistors to theopposite level of the back porch signal. Thus resulting in a D.C. offsetsignal 1202, from the output of amplifier 1240, equivalent in magnitudeto the voltage at the back porch, but with opposite polarity (due to theinversion at buffer 1210).

As configured, the offset voltage is continuously fed back and summedwith the incoming signal (i.e. Input Signal 901) at summing node 910thereby removing the offset from the output video signal, R_(Y) 1201.The summing node is resistive and does not contain any capacitivecoupling, thus having the benefit of no signal distortion and being ableto track large DC offsets in the video signal at a much faster responsetime.

In one embodiment, the output signal being sampled (i.e. 902) is theoutput of the circuitry causing the offset (e.g. 914). In otherembodiments, an offset exists in the incoming video signal, which mustbe corrected, thus the output signal being sampled is that of amplifier912. In such embodiments, circuit 914 may not exist in the circuit.

Referring back to FIG. 6, output signals 602R, 602G and 602B (i.e. forRGBHV video format) are generated by stripping the sync signals (e.g.603H and 603V) from the video signal components at respective outputstages 640R, 640G and 640B. In one or more embodiments, an output stage640 comprises a switch that grounds the video output during the syncperiod. When either the vertical sync (e.g. 603V) or the horizontal sync(e.g. 603H) pulse is present for any video component signal, the videooutput (i.e. 602) is switched to ground; otherwise, the video output isswitched to the corresponding video signal output of skew adjustmentcircuit 630. An embodiment of a switch arrangement is illustrated inFIG. 7. In other non-RGBHV video formats the sync signals may not bestripped and/or sync signals added to re-constitute the video formatbeing transmitted.

In FIG. 7, R_(X) 701 is the video source from the output of skewadjustment circuit 630, and R_(Y) 702 is the stripped video output. Thevertical sync strip signal (i.e. V_(Sync)) is ORed with the horizontalsync strip signal (i.e. H_(Sync)) to generate the switch Select signal.When the Select signal is true (“T”) the video output, R_(Y) 702, iscoupled to ground through switch 710 to remove the sync pulse.Otherwise, i.e. when the Select signal is false (“F”), the video outputR_(Y) 702 is coupled to the input signal, R_(X) 701. In one or moreembodiments, the vertical and horizontal sync strip signals are providedto output stages 640 via circuitry using input signals coupled tooutputs of sync detectors 650H and 650V.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the sync pulses are detected by comparingthe appropriate color component signal (e.g. the Red (i.e. R_(Y))component for the vertical sync signal and the Blue (i.e. B_(Y))component for the horizontal sync signal) at the corresponding output ofskew adjustment circuit 630 against two reference voltage levels. Acomparator may be used for such comparison. Thus, in the embodiment ofFIG. 6, the vertical sync signal is generated by vertical sync detector650V when the R_(Y) output of skew adjustment circuit 630 meets thereference voltage threshold level (V_(REF)), and the horizontal syncsignal is generated by horizontal sync detector 650H when the By outputof skew adjustment circuit 630 meets the reference voltage thresholdlevel (H_(REF)).

Thus, a novel DC restoration method and system for video transmittedover twisted pair conductors has been described. It will be understoodthat the above described arrangements of apparatus and methods aremerely illustrative of applications of the principles of this inventionand many other embodiments and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theclaims. For example, although example embodiments have been describedfor video signals that comprise three color components transmitted overthree conductor pairs, the invention can be used with any type ofmulti-component signal that is transmitted over any number ofconductors, as will be understood by those of skill in the art.

1. An apparatus for clamping a video signal with respect to ground comprising: a pulse generator circuit for generating a sample pulse from a trailing edge of a synchronization signal; a sample and hold circuit coupled to an output video signal source and to output of said pulse generator circuit, wherein said sample and hold circuit is configured to acquire an offset signal from said output video signal when said sample pulse is active; and a summing circuit having an output coupled to said output video signal source and a first input terminal coupled to an input video signal source and a second input terminal coupled to said offset signal.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said input video signal comprises at least one component of a formatted video signal.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said at least one component of said input video signal comprises: a Red component of an RGB formatted video signal; a Green component of said RGB formatted video signal; and a Blue component of said RGB formatted video signal.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said Green component of said RGB formatted video signal includes said synchronization signal.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said input video signal further comprises said synchronization signal.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said input video signal and said offset signal are resistively coupled to said input terminals of said summing circuit.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said offset signal is equivalent in magnitude and opposite in polarity to a voltage of said output video signal.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said pulse generator is configured to automatically detect the source and configuration of said synchronization signal.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said configuration of said synchronization signal is bi-level.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said configuration of said synchronization signal is tri-level.
 11. A method for clamping a video signal with respect to ground comprising: obtaining a synchronization signal from an input video signal, said synchronization signal having a signal configuration with a leading edge and a trailing edge; generating a sample pulse signal at said trailing edge of said synchronization pulse; generating an offset signal by sampling an output video signal using said sample pulse signal; and generating said output video signal from a subtraction of said offset signal from said input video signal.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said input video signal comprises at least one component of a formatted video signal.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said at least one component of said input video signal comprises: a Red component of an RGB formatted video signal; a Green component of said RGB formatted video signal; and a Blue component of said RGB formatted video signal.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said Green component of said RGB formatted video signal includes said horizontal synchronization signal.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein said signal configuration is automatically obtained.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said signal configuration of said synchronization signal is bi-level.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein said signal configuration of said synchronization signal is tri-level. Page 23 of 34 